Realizations and Conversations
by trekkiexb5
Summary: When does a childhood love become more adult?  When does dating become a long term relationship?  Where is that line?  Toushirou and Karin are about to find out. HitsuKarin, with a taste of IchiRukia.


"Realizations and Conversations."

A Bleach Fan Fiction.

Written by trekkiexb5.

Hitsugaya/K. Kurosaki Romance. Rated M for language and sexual overtones.

SYNOPSIS:

DISCLAIMER: If Bleach was mine...but it isn't…damnit!

Also…

Sexual overtones here. Nothing too explicit, but those too young to read such things should not indulge. Please. Nor am I condoning such actions, but Karin is an unusual human, and Toushirou is, well, dead and probably at least 50 if not older, I think we are dealing with the exception here.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This is set 2 ½ years after "First Kiss" and 4 ½ years after "What Best Friends are For." What? Never read them? Well read them first then come back here.

Karin is 16 years old here.

This "situation" is partly due to the fact they have a long distance relationship. 11 years in the military has taught me that long distant relationships are difficult and the short time spent with the other is usually taken up with getting to know the person again. Well, the serious ones are. Toushirou and Karin probably would take their relationship seriously. So therefore, theirs would take a few steps backwards then move forward.

They needed to get nudged.

Explaining:

First, OK, probably not the best nudge, but I do tire of the "Rangiku fixes them up" type stories. Or "love at first sight." Let's try something different. And they do need to bridge the sweet and innocent love to something more adult. Being in two different worlds makes it hard for them to do so, not the physical aspect, but the emotional one. Even with the visits, they would be awkward around each other and more sensitive to changes at first. Thus wasting precious time they have together reintroducing themselves to one another.

And let's face it, I have the theme of "cliché" in regards to their relationship; let's see how it can continue.

It was no secret that Karin Kurosaki was dating Toushirou Hitsugaya. She had been dating him for over two years now, and that they were best friends for two years before that. It was no secret she found him cute and adorable, but what she learned in the summer of her 16th year was, in fact, that he was damn sexy.

It was at a party celebrating the end Soul Society holiday called The King's Festival. On the fifth day of the week long celebration, the Head Captain would host a party for the senior officers of the Gotei 13. In the past, they have been staid, stagnant affairs.

This year was different. Not because of the fact there was going to be a new Head Captain next spring, but because Captain Ukitake gleefully picked the theme. He decided that modern-classic cocktail party with dinner beforehand was perfect.

Now, most of the senior officers of the Gotei 13 groaned inwardly at this choice when it was announced that spring at the Captains' Meeting. The party wasn't popular among the higher echelon and was expected it would slip by the wayside like so many other frivolities did during the post- Winter War.

No such luck.

Then they found out what they had to wear, and where they had to get it…In the World of the Living.

Now, there was a few, mainly women, who were overjoyed to not be uniform. And most were secretly thrilled to see their male counterparts out of the traditional clothing.

The Kurosaki's and their human reiatsu-filled friends have been staying in the Seireitei the last few summer breaks, when freed from school. Holding training within the confines for the Soul Society gave them the freedom to move about without being stuck in Urahara's training room basement. Besides, the man was threatening to charge rental fees to the Gotei 13.

Regardless, the humans were informed of this party before arriving that summer. This, unfortunately, brought Karin face to face with one her worst nightmares: clothes shopping. But there she was, standing in a boutique with Orihime, Rukia, Yuzu, Tatsuki (who was looking just as miffed as Karin) and Chizoru going through rack upon endless racks of dresses and being harassed by over eager shop assistants.

"_Yuck! How can girls like doing this?" _Karin thought as brushed off the cheerful Yuzu with a bright pink dress. _"I thought it was bad enough that I have to wear a skirt for my school uniform! Even Tatsuki's idea was shot down when she suggested a pantsuit." _Both girls were informed that option of clothing was out of the question.

And neither girl had any excuses to get out of the hell of shopping. Karin finally had given up and said she would go with it as long as the dress was, in her own words, "classy."

Yuzu, having her sister's tact permission to go girly on Karin, gleefully dove into the sea of dresses searching for the perfect one for her twin.

Six hours and seven stores later, Karin had learned that classy meant differentthings to different people. She didn't really have any idea what it meant to her. And unfortunately for her, Karakura town bought the entire world supply of tube-topped tulle skirted dresses.

Karin was about to give up and forego the party altogether, when something in a shop window caught her eye. She stopped in the crowded street and stared for a moment. Then she pointed and said, "That's it."

Her fifteen minutes of hearing loss due to the girly screams was worth it. Expensive, but when you have a boyfriend with a high paying job sends you an insane amount of cash and says "buy whatever you want," helps. They raided the little shop and she purchased the dress. So with dress, shoes and accessories in hand, she was ready for the party.

Despite (or maybe because of the dress) she still didn't want to go, but she would stay for at least dinner. Karin didn't think she could get out of that. Afterwards, she would seek out her white haired boyfriend and they would disappear from the party. Perhaps go play some soccer or even practice her sword play, she wasn't sure. But that would be better than watching a bunch of adults getting drunk.

And, well…maybe in the tiny part of her mind, probably next door to her Inner World (Karin was convinced that her zanpakuto was a pervert) she was curious what the Squad Ten Captain was wearing.

Just a tiny bit curious. Really.

…

The Captain in question, also known as Karin's boyfriend, decided to play it smart. His Lieutenant was known to keep up with the latest trends from the World of the Living. He would swear her bookcases were stuffed with fashion magazines instead of required reading. So, to save on his yearly divisional budget and his sanity, he had his and his lieutenant's clothes tailored. He even paid for them.

When Captain Kuchiki and Komamara shared with him their distaste of shopping in the World of Living after a Captain's Meeting, Toushirou told him of his idea. Then Rangiku shared the idea with Nanao, Isane and several of the Tenth seated officers. Consequently, Captain Hitsugaya's house soon became a sea of ribbon, beads, and bolts of cloth.

And one very pissed off Captain.

But he took deep breaths. Besides, at the end, Squad Ten's budget was mostly intact. So the young Captain was mostly satisfied. And, after dinner, he was going to ditch the party with his girlfriend and probably play some soccer.

Ok, a small, tiny, insignificant portion of his mind was curious about what Karin was going to wear. The letter she wrote (and delivered via Squad 13 patrols) said it was pretty expensive, but worth it. He wondered what kind of dress was "worth it" and what she would look like in it.

Hyournmaru chuckled when he said he didn't care. He didn't. He'd seen her in her school uniform. A dress wouldn't be much different, right?

Right?

Nevertheless, the party was held near the end of the summer. The human population, after nearly two months of training, would be returning to the World of the Living, to return to school and/or jobs. They would be leaving in less than a week. The whole summer, Karin was constantly trying to get Toushirou to show her what he was wearing to this party and vice versa. But, between his icy stubbornness and the fact she was a Kurosaki, neither gave in. The couple had more than their usual amount of arguing, much to the amusement of the Gotei 13.

Finally, the party was upon the Seireitei. All the captains and senior officers reluctantly (well, a few were) changed into the strange western clothing.

'Stupid, stupid assigned seats,' Karin thought as she scanned the crowd for her boyfriend. Luck would have it, they didn't arrive at the same time and the Captains had a meeting beforehand. She had a sudden attack of the nerves when she was changing earlier today. It took all of Yuzu, Orihime, Tatsuki and Rukia's strength to drag her back into the room. It was far too late to change her mind about the dress, they told her. So, feeling more than a little apprehensive about wearing it, but curious what he thought about it, she looked for the short white haired captain.

Well, not so short anymore. He finally reached the 5 foot mark. He was very proud of this fact until Karin walked through the gate earlier this summer. She hit 5 foot two. All his smugness was washed from his face. "Damn you Kurosaki, you are taller than me!'

No hugs, no kisses, no I miss you'd. Just him being pissed off. _'Such is our relationship'_ sighed Karin.

A flash of white caught her eye. The crowd near the captain's table had finally moved, giving her a view of the captains. "Why was our table on the opposite side of the room from them?" She thought sourly as she searched for her boyfriend. "He'd better not of chickened out otherwise I'm gunna…"

Oh

My

God.

She found him, well the back of him.

It was enough.

OR perhaps too much.

Who was his tailor, and whoever it was should either be lavished with endless rewards for all eternity, or executed slowly for creating such destructive weapons against womankind.

Her Zanpakuto whistled.

For once, she agreed with her.

'_This is an epiphianic moment,' _Karin thought, her eyes wide. This night gave up its first realization: Toushirou Hitsugaya had buttocks that should be bronzed and mounted for the work of art they were.

Realization two: Mounted was no longer a good word, rather a safe word, to use in conjunction with Captain Hitsugaya's anatomy. For when that gorgeous ass of Toushirou's finally sat in his chair, her Zanpakuto remarked; **"If the backside is that good, the front must be against all laws of nature devastatingly gorgeous."**

The weapon also remarked that Karin should wipe the drool off the back of her chair.

The Third realization hit as he reluctantly turned around to face her family and tablemates; that was the first time she ever thought he was gorgeous. She quickly removed cute, sweet and adorable from her descriptor list for Toushirou.

How in the hell was she going to make it through dinner?

…..

Toushirou, on the other hand, did not see his girlfriend in the Squad One's "banquet room." Bad enough they had a stupid meeting before this, looking rather silly standing in line with Tuxedos in the Captain's Meeting Room. For no damned reason as far as he could tell. By the time they arrived at the hall, they were seating for dinner. He reluctantly sat down and talked dispiritedly with the other Captains, wishing for the last course to show up.

"_Stupid adult conversation about stuff that doesn't matter,"_ he thought, trying to look mildly interested on the topic of wines from the East Rukon Districts. Trust Byakuya to find the most boring subject to monopolize the dinner conversation. Still, he carried on. Finally, the dessert plates were being taken up and people started to remove themselves from their seats, Toushirou grabbed the wineglass he had been nursing the whole meal, and went over to a balcony he had scoped out earlier that evening. Half hidden by the heavy curtain that hung in the entrance of the balcony, he waited for his girlfriend to come into view.

The girl in question was seeking him out. Knowing that her boyfriend would hide somewhere so he wouldn't have to talk to people, she started looking for half hidden nooks and corners. _"Anti-social ass,"_ Karin thought, frowning.

"**Not quite,"** her zanpakuto corrected, **"anti-social gorgeous ass."**

Karin stopped, sighing. She closed her eyes for a moment, contemplating that vision of his backside for a few moments. Opening her eyes, she redoubled her efforts to seek him out.

And she found him; hiding in a balcony in the distance. She caught his eyes and he waved to her, and she returned the gesture. The shadows prevented her for getting that view she so wanted.

But Toushirou got a view. As she approached from halfway across the room, he observed "the dress."

It was long, with a slit up the right side. He could see her very nice looking leg peek out every other step. _"Nice legs,"_ he thought, though not for the first time. Then again, she wore shorts a lot for practicing soccer, and he had, over the years, noticed her very nice legs.

Karin also wore heels, which bothered him greatly. Though they are pretty tame compared to the strappy-why-haven't-they-fallen-over-sandals/heels that most of the other women were wearing. _"At least," _he thought, "_She could at least walk in those, and maybe even not complain about her feet hurting the next day, unlike Matsumoto."_

The dress itself was black, fuzzy texture he noticed as she got closer. Every step made the dress shimmer to a purplish colour and metallic thread woven in it made it glitter in the light.

Before she could get to Toushirou's balcony hiding place, Karin was attacked by a mob of female friends. She shrugged, smiling chargrinally at her boyfriend and held out her finger, mouthing 'one minute,' to him. She then turned to greet her female friends.

Sighing, Toushirou took the time to continue his perusal of his girlfriend from a distance. _"Where was I? Oh, the dress," _the black dress that hugged her curves. And Toushirou noticed she had curves. Well, he knew she had curves, but he was more…aware…of them tonight. Probably because of the dress. The dress was also sleeveless, the straps hidden by a drape of the same cloth that followed the cut of the collar, which gave a hint of cleavage.

Unlike most males, Toushirou didn't find cleavage all that attractive. Well, it was, but not in the sense of most male porn infatuations. He had his lieutenant, Matsumoto to thank for that. And her hugs. Defiantly her hugs. In fact, Rangiku's conservative cut dress she had chosen looked beautiful, at least he thought so. He even told her that. She had blushed at his compliment, and then complained she couldn't breathe.

No, Karin's dress was the same type neckline on Rangiku's. The drape of cloth covered both shoulders. Only when Karin turned her back to him to greet Yoruichi that his eyes saw that the left drape stopped at the bottom of the shoulder blade and the right one stopped…

"_Oh, by the deities!"_ Toushirou thought, slack jawed. The wineglass that was half way to his mouth was nearly dropped out of his hand. Toushirou fumbled to grab the splashing liquid's container.

Toushirou wasn't upset that the right drape ended at her hip. Rather that the back of the dress's neckline ended at her lower back. The fact it did wasn't that bad, there were girls wearing stuff tonight that you could see…_"Howe did Rangiku put it? Oh yes, 'butt cleavage.'"_ Karin's dress was very modest in that respect.

However, after he slammed his jaw shut, Toushirou realized a few things he never thought about in regards to his girlfriend.

ONE: She was stunning in that dress.

TWO: She could shop for clothes well.

THREE: She's not wearing a bra.

"_No way,"_ as well as Toushirou understood women's modern undergarments. It was impossible. But he learned that he was right when she turned to the side in her conversation and did a hopping maneuver.

He knew breasts, in their jiggle and shake. Again, look who his lieutenant was. The concept was there, and he understood the effects of gravity on them.

But watching Karin's perfect-sized breasts move during said maneuver…

"_Oh, gods…"_ he thought. Several more realizations came over him.

The tailor-made pants of his tuxedo were too tight.

Never, NEVER drink anything when Karin wasn't wearing a bra. That thought made his brain inexplicably scatter in directions that made his pants even more uncomfortable.

And finally, and most importantly, he was never ever going to see Karin in the same light again. For he now knew in those embarrassing vague dreams he has recently started to have that starred no one in particular and required a change of clothes or a shower afterword ,would now only star Karin, and she would be wearing that dress.

He desperately realized that he really wanted to know if she wasn't wearing a bra; and he knew how women liked everything matchy, then was she wearing any undergarments at all?

"_Oh gods and deities…I've become a pervert."_ Toushirou felt a little sick, and strangely, a little giddy about the thought.

…

Out of the corner of her eye, Karin saw that Toushirou nearly spilled the glass he was holding.

"**By the jaw drop, he probably noticed the back of dress,"** her zanpakuto sniggered. **"He's pretty smart. Most likely he put two and two together and got a lack of upper undergarments."**

Karin blushed.

"Oh Karin…thinking about Toushirou, are we?" Her sister Yuzu giggled and was soon joined in by the rest of the gaggle.

"Well yeah, of course I was!" She huffed, trying to save a little face. "If you all had a boyfriend as hot as mine, you'll be thinking about him all the time, too."

"OH, so he's 'hot,' now?" Rangiku laughed as Karin realized that in changing the Toushirou Descriptor Page in her mind, it also included the one for speaking in public. "My poor little Captain; he will blush terribly as that makes its way around the Gotei 13."

The Matsumoto rumor mill has started.

"_He's gunna kill me,"_ Karin thought, blushing worse.

"Oh, go on, Karin," Yoruichi grinned. "Go find your hot little captain boyfriend. Us girls have better things to talk about than someone who is so obviously so taken."

The girls laughed as they waved goodbye to Karin. She took a deep breath and walked over to the balcony. _"Finally,"_ she thought._ "A sensible person to talk to."_

"Sorry about that," She said by way of greeting him.

"You're wearing heels," he grumbled, setting the wineglass on the table. Her shoes were a safe topic. Toushirou needed safe topics.

"You would notice that," she grinned, kicking her right leg up to wiggle the offending item. "At least they are not stilettos. They tried to get me in those torture devices, but I refused."

"**You couldn't stand in them, let alone walk."** Her zanpakuto murmured.

"_Shut up!_" Karin mentally hissed.

"That's because you are sensible, Karin," Toushirou replied.

"**Sensible isn't a good way of describing her, Master."** Hyourinmaru said.

"_How should I reply, then?"_ Toushirou shot back, irritated.

"**Look at her and compliment."**

Toushirou did look this time. Her dress was made of velvet, he noticed now. She had makeup on, but not a lot. Her natural beauty shown through. Her hair was pulled up in a twist and a sequined clip holding it place. She wore a thin gold bracelet, and a pair of gold earrings with three tiny diamonds at the end of three thin chains. The necklace that Karin wore was one that he bought her last Christmas; silver and gold chain with tiny diamond and amethyst encrusted snowflakes of various sizes. The largest of these skirted her cleavage.

His mind went straight to those uncomfortable thoughts again. How the dress frames those…

Toushirou mentally shook his head and placed his eyes back on her face. "You look beautiful, Karin," he answered sincerely, blushing. He blushed more when he noticed that Karin's eyes were wandering over him.

She murmured a reply as she roved her boyfriend's body.

"**Check out the package, Karin!"** her zanpakuto giggled.

Unconsciously her eyes wandered to the area in question and she noticed that, yes, he was…well endowed, as far as she could tell, anyways. Kind of unexpected due to his height in general but with great relief for future…things… A faint blush crept up on her face and she moved her vision further up his body.

He wasn't wearing a cummerbund she noticed, he apparently went for the more elegant vest. It was made of a teal blue silk that exactly matched his eyes. It had a multitude of small black Chinese dragons embroidered all over it. His bowtie was the same, save the colours were opposite.

"_**Gorgeous,"**_ Karin and her zanpakuto mentally chorused. Karin also decided she was going to get his tie before the end of the party.

"**Ohh! Good idea!"** her, zanpakuto chuckled. Karin wasn't sure what she wanted to do with it, but she had to have it. Her zanpakuto then informed her of things to do with the bowtie, some of which were quite…naughty. Actually most were naughty, and very intriguing.

"Karin?" Toushirou roused her out of her slightly off coloured discussion with her blade of what she was going to do with the tie.

"Sorry." She sat down at the bistro table as Toushirou dropped down in the seat opposite. They both were quiet for a few moments, as the noise and conversations of the room floated over them. The furtively glanced at each other; each time catching the other's eye before blushing and finding the wood grain of the tabletop interesting.

"Too late to play soccer." Startled, Karin looked up at Toushirou in surprise. His eyes were on the sunset, casting the Seireitei in a soft orange glow. She smiled, remembering that first sunset, when she didn't know he was a Shinigami and kicked a soccer ball at his head.

"Karin?"

She drew her eyes off the darkening orange sky to look into his beautiful blue, though questioning, eyes. "Sorry," she replied sheepishly, shrugging and smiling. "I was remembering other sunsets in the past."

Toushirou smiled softly, also remembering some of those sunsets. Though most were with Momo, the best, it seemed, were the recent ones with Karin.

He was glad he did not chase her away that eventful day with the Ouin. More importantly, he was glad he gave into his 'childish' instincts to assist her with her soccer game. The end result of those incidents was sitting right here, across from him, wearing that dress and looking like a shining star in a room of darkness. His star, his alone.

"Memory lane for you, too?" Karin softly chuckled, as he sheepishly refocused his eyes on her.

"Yeah." Toushirou's affirmative was quiet.

They both were silent for a few moments, then simultaneously burst into laughter. It deflated a little the strange new tension that was coming through this evening's activities.

They talked amicably for what seemed hours, on training, school, friends, soccer, life, death, family. It wasn't like they never talked before but it was like they couldn't stop talking. Like if they were silent, that strange uncomfortable but incredible thoughts would trinkle up from the subconscious and affect their relationship. It was frightening and scary, but exciting also. They both knew that things had started to change, but they were not sure how to proceed.

Regardless, they talked. Once in a while, one of them would get up and get new drinks from the other side of the room. There, a punch bowl was set up for the under aged and teetotalers. Toushirou, not much for drinking anyway, despite having an obligatory glass of Kuchiki's private stock of rare wines, had duty in the morning. Karin was under aged, even though her dad allowed a half glass of Champagne for both girls during the meal. Regardless, both were not really interested in alcohol, well, not at least for tonight.

Besides, Karin was enjoying the party thus far, which was unusual for her.

"**You are enjoying the décor."** Her Zanpakuto sniggered.

"_Oh yeah,"_ she heartily agreed, watching her boyfriend's rear as he retreated to the drinks table. _"Definitely the décor is well worth the pain of shopping and wearing heels."_

Toushirou, too, had ample opportunity to observe the 'décor' when Karin had to use the 'little girl's room' to 'powder her nose.' Thank goodness after years of Rangiku, he was able to translate those phrases. Regardless, the earlier sudden and uncomfortable feelings of melting came back as she sauntered (yes, he firmly believed that the way she was walking was called sauntering) away and he was, yet again, exposed to the elegant bare back of Karin Kurosaki.

Hyourinmaru chuckled at him when Toushirou sighed mentally. **"Problems Master?"**__The zanpakuto asked in such a way that Toushirou was sure that the ice dragon was teasing him.

"_Yes, no, I don't know…"_ He paused, not sure how to word it. _"Am I a pervert to think of Karin in a…erotic sort of way? I mean, she's beautiful in all, but isn't it demeaning to just see her as a physical object?"_

"**If you think of women in general most of the time as an object, then yes, you are a pervert. But you don't. You have always considered her a person first. I think tonight is an exception. She dressed that way to attract YOUR attention physically and I am sure she is seeing you the same way." **

"_But I didn't__dress this way for her."_

"**Really? I know your thoughts, Master. I am a part of you. Trust me, you did. You agreed to the colour and pattern and the pants and even the style because of Karin's preferences to your eyes and to me."**Hyourinmaru sounded a bit smug on the last part.

Toushirou thought for a moment. He knew she liked vests on a man via her commenting on outfits during movies. She often regaled to everyone that his eyes, especially the colour, were his best feature. And he got some second hand information through Rangiku and Rukia that she routinely checked out men's butts. Funny how the subconscious works.

"**It also helps that your subconscious is a talking sword."**

Toushirou smiled and chuckled. He pondered for a moment as the girl in question _sauntered_ back to the balcony. _"She REALLY is thinking of my body?"_ he asked the zanpakuto.

"**Yes."**

"_How do you know?"_

"**Trade secret."** Hyourinmaru replied, chuckling.

Toushirou shook his head at the smarmy reply. Still, he felt guilty about thinking of her as a sex object, even in his head. And regardless of what she alledigily thinking, he felt even more guilty that he was enjoying those thoughts. Really enjoying them. Toushirou felt it was too much, too soon, and his brain may implode before the end of the night.

Or his heart, which was racing non-stop since he saw her in that dress.

Karin, on the other hand, was enjoying; no reveling in the fact that tonight took a left turn at Lustville. She wasn't sure why she didn't care, perhaps years of subtle influence from her dirty-minded zanpakuto, nevertheless, she savored the view of Toushirou every time he got up to fetch drinks. She wasn't sure what brought on this sudden and very focused attention to Toushirou as a virile male, rather than a friend and boyfriend, but she was glad it started.

For the couple, the world seemed to blur and their focus, the center of the universe, was that bistro table. But both knew something was about to happen, and soon.

Karin returned from the punchbowl with the glasses filled with pinkish punch and some cookies she grabbed. Her stomach was starting to rebel, she thought, from all the liquid sugar. She sat them down and returned to her seat, nibbling on the shortbread. She watched Toushirou take a sip of the iced drink, and then he frowned.

"Problems?" She asked, almost seductively.

"You did get this from the non-alcoholic bowl, right?" He asked her. "If that's the one at the end marked with a sign saying 'non-alcoholic' then yeah, I did." Karin replied, slightly miffed at him for accusing her of wrongdoing.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "So have I. I noticed a weird taste earlier, but now it is way stronger." He looked at, expressionless. "Someone spiked the punch. Probably it has been spiked in some degree all night."

Karin paused, waiting for her zanpakuto to say cliché. Then she waited for the weapon to start listing American teenage movie titles that has this same scenario in it. Silence. Then the ramifications set in. She gasped in shock. She and Yuzu had been drinking that punch the whole night. Add in the champagne and the fact she very rarely imbibed.

She was probably drunk.

And she realized she didn't care.

Probably because she was drunk. It did explain the strange twists her brain seemed to travel down tonight.

She didn't care about that, either.

Toushirou, on the other hand, wasn't as drunk as she was. _"Probably,"_ he thought. While he wasn't anywhere near his lieutenant's tolerance level, he did drink once in a while, though not to the point of passing out. He was sure that the spikiness in the spiked punch had a far higher proof than what he would drink, and in far larger amounts.

He looked at Karin now as the new information trinkled in. She was flushed; her stunning eyes that flashed from violet to grey depending on the light were slightly glazed over. One of her graceful arms was propping her head up, a strong hand cupping her delicate chin. Her luscious lips were pouting…

"_Ok,"_ he thought, sighing mentally._ "I'm drunk. Those descriptor words are rarely used by me."_ Then he really knew he was drunk because he didn't care that he was drunk.

And the fact he should write poetry about Karin's arm.

Karin pondered the issue at hand. She also pondered her boyfriend and how he would look with fewer clothes on. She wondered what his buttocks would feel like if she grabbed them. That took her thoughts back down to the town square of Lustville, population two. She squirmed in her chair, the sudden urge not to be sitting here formed. The room, as large as it was, started to enclose on her. And despite sitting on an open balcony, she felt hot.

She could easily create a wind to cool herself off, wind zanpakuto and all, but her brain wasn't functioning right and her zanpakuto spirit was mysteriously not answering her.

"_So she disappears when I want her around."_ Karin thought, and then mentally shook her head._ "On the second thought, maybe I don't want her round."_ As she silently stared at her boyfriend, who was glaring at the empty glasses on the table. There were an awful a lot of them, and she suddenly couldn't remember how many times they went and got drinks. Frowning, she announced, "I need to get some air, Toushirou."

Her voice startled the young captain out of his ire-filled thoughts. _"Air?"_ he thought. They were practically sitting outside. But, he had seen that look on Karin's face before and he knew any logical arguments were hopeless.

"OK," he answered her. They both stood up at the same time. _"It might be a good idea to clear my clouded thoughts,"_ They both took a few steps away when they stopped and looked at each other.

Slowly, silently and without any expression, they turned around in unison, and returned to their little table, with too many empty glasses, and two filled ones.

"What the hell," she murmured at the same time as Toushirou sighed, "In for a penny…" The American expression was fitting.

They both snatched the punched filled glasses, and downed them quickly. Karin felt the slow burn as a flush crawled onto her face. Yep, they were spiked.

She unsteadily turned around. She felt Toushirou's hand on her elbow, guiding her wordlessly toward the exit. "Good thing he is here," she thought, giggling in her head.

She had forgotten where the doors were.

Please note that the drinking age is different for many countries. Also, I am old enough to remember when it was ok to have a sip of champagne during festive occasions. Trust me, after the sip; I didn't drink again until I was 25. I think I missed some misspelled words, especially of proper names. Just point them out and I'll fix it in the next scrub. I accidently loaded some incorrect spellings into my dictionary.

Also…all hate mail must be in the form of a review. Thank you. Expect two weeks for the next chapter.


End file.
